It seemed as if Drew Brees and Co. had all but put away the Panthers after three quarters. Then Cam Newton came alive during the fourth quarter where he threw for 2 TD’s and passed for the majority of his 349 yards. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers defense limited the Saints to just 41 yards on 22 attempts. The flip side of that coin though gave Brees a more than good day with 376 passing yards, 2 TD’s, and 89.3 QBR.
During the Panthers final drive, the mistakes piled up. Before the drive started, it started with an ill-advised interception by Panthers safety Mike Adams on a Saints 4th and 2. Instead of batting down the pass, it ended up costing his team 20 yards of field position. This ended up making all the difference after a costly intentional ground call that backed Cam and Co. out of the red zone and left them with 4th and 23. The drive was capped off by a Cam Newton 17 yard sack with a turnover on downs.
The failed comeback by offensive coordinator Mike Shula prompted the immediate firing of not only Shula but QB coach Ken Dorsey as well.
This Sunday the Saints travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings led by Casey Keenum in the divisional round. Minnesota is favored by 4.
